ATL: IKE Discussion

[fasterdisaster]

depends where he was stationed in ivan i guess to assess if his observation is more than just his own experience

Mike Bettes says he thinks the winds he's been in with Ike are worse than Ivan.

Oh I'm not denying that, I just now looked it up and Stephanie was in Mobile, Cantore was at Fort Walton Beach, and Bettes was in Pensacola.

[southerngale]

At 12:53am cdt

Beaumont/Port Arthur, SE Texas Regional Airport

E 56 G 81 MPH

[Windy]

Storm chaser reports from Galveston:

Jim Reed: We're back to the parking garage again... the storm surge is really picking up. well over the sea wall, but not threatening the hotels yet. It is really intense out there. A piece of sheet metal with nails all over it hit our vehicle so we decided it was no longer safe to stream! We saw Hiraldo Riveira (sp!) huddled in the bushes about 5 minutes ago. 95 mph sustained right now. --12:10AM

Stuart Robinson: Insane winds now on Galverston Iands - eye is almost here. Lots of local building damage - surge is now becoming a problem - oh I also have a flat batter. --12:22AM

[Jason_B]

Houston's about to get whacked by a strong band in that NW eyewall.

This storm is so much like Ivan maybe even worse, it's going to be a looong night for those in Texas.

[soonertwister]

What are the odds that my friend's sailboat in Kemah will survive this? The docks there are on posts that can float up 14 or 15 feet. It looks like it is taking a direct hit in the worst way on radar.

I'm going to take a wild and unreliable guess and say his boat may well make it, but will likely be damaged. Being in that location on the west side of the Bay, he shouldn't see the kind of surge seen in some spots in the upper east part of the bay, and especially SE of the Bay, where some of the surge could be astronomical.

[fasterdisaster]

Storm chaser reports from Galveston:

Jim Reed: We're back to the parking garage again... the storm surge is really picking up. well over the sea wall, but not threatening the hotels yet. It is really intense out there. A piece of sheet metal with nails all over it hit our vehicle so we decided it was no longer safe to stream! We saw Hiraldo Riveira (sp!) huddled in the bushes about 5 minutes ago. 95 mph sustained right now. --12:10AM

Stuart Robinson: Insane winds now on Galverston Iands - eye is almost here. Lots of local building damage - surge is now becoming a problem - oh I also have a flat batter. --12:22AM

Wow, and these are over an hour old.

[jimguru]

KPRC 2 is now reporting 1,000,000 now without power.

[bob rulz]

Mike had to move inside the van.

Wow, props to him for the broadcasts!

[fasterdisaster]

KPRC 2 is now reporting 1,000,000 now without power.

Yeesh, and this number is only going to increase.

[Jason_B]

Bettes now inside the truck, said he's never seen anything like this before...and he has yet to see the eastern eyewall.

[jimguru]

Any idea when the eyewall will hit metro Houston?

[fasterdisaster]

Any chance they'll put the winds at 115 for this advisory? Radar IMO would support it.

[Extremeweatherguy]

Mike Bettes just said that this is the worst wind he has EVER seen in a tropical cyclone...and this is the 18th one he has been in!

[mtm4319]

Last few radar frames are due north. The center of the eye might not even make it as far west as Galveston Island:

[Deathray]

Bettes now inside the truck, said he's never seen anything like this before...and he has yet to see the eastern eyewall.

Any online stream?

[mtm4319]

Any chance they'll put the winds at 115 for this advisory? Radar IMO would support it.

Personal Forecast Disclaimer:
The posts in this forum are NOT official forecast and should not be used as such. They are just the opinion of the poster and may or may not be backed by sound meteorological data. They are NOT endorsed by any professional institution or storm2k.org. For official information, please refer to the NHC and NWS products.

Very little chance.

[Yankeegirl]

Ok... checking in for a minute... the winds here on the west side are STRONG! you can see all the transformers blowing all over the place... we still have power.... gotta go!! Stay safe!!

[fasterdisaster]

Any chance they'll put the winds at 115 for this advisory? Radar IMO would support it.

Personal Forecast Disclaimer:
The posts in this forum are NOT official forecast and should not be used as such. They are just the opinion of the poster and may or may not be backed by sound meteorological data. They are NOT endorsed by any professional institution or storm2k.org. For official information, please refer to the NHC and NWS products.

Very little chance.

Yeah I'd have to agree, it's just such a shame we missed the most vital ob from recon in the NE eyewall. Still a chance they could at the end of the season.

[vbhoutex]

Currently Galveston is in the eye. dead calm there. Here in Houston I am one of the lucky ones who still has power with over 1 million without and transformers blowing all over the place. Winds in my area of W Houston have gusted to 75 mph but are gusting into the 60's right now with ts sustained. The worst is not to omy area yet either.

[Jason_B]

I don't see how 115mph would be out of the question, it's looking better on radar and IR...looks better than Katrina,Rita and Ivan were at landfall.